The Supreme Court will hear tomorrow the bail plea of civil Rights activist Binayak Sen, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of sedition and links with Naxalites. Sen, 61, has challenged the order of the Chhattisgarh High Court, which had rejected his bail plea on February 10. A professional doctor and a pass-out of the prestigious Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, Sen has sought bail contending that the trial...

The Kerala Human Rights Commission has asked the secretary, taxes department, for an explanation on a bizarre incident. After the then inspector-general of registration, A.K. Ramakrishnan, retired on March 31, his office and official car were allegedly washed with cowdung-mixed water. Ramakrishnan complained to the commission that this incident took place the very next day, on April 1, and that to dodge the charge that his office was being specifically...

Veteran social activist Anna Hazare’s crusade against corruption, that has spread like wildfire across the country, has found extensive support in Assam. The 72-year-old Gandhian began his fast-unto-death at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Tuesday, demanding the enactment of Jan Lokpal Bill to tackle corruption. He wants 50 per cent representatives from civil society to be included in the joint committee that will draft the bill. In Guwahati, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti...

Reacting to a report published in The Hindu, which told the story of illegal employment of children and their plight in the coal mines of Hazaribagh district, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to Jharkhand Chief Secretary Ashok Kumar Singh seeking a report within four weeks on the issue. The news report, “In Jharkhand, children slug it out in ‘rat holes' to make a living”, was published...

The watchdog risks becoming “a sinecure for retired persons” This May, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is due to appear before the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Geneva for its re-accreditation as an ‘A' grade institution. Ahead of this process, a consortium of non-governmental organisations released a report here on Wednesday on the compliance of the NHRC with the ‘Paris...